Related:

• You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
• You can lead a horse to drink, but you can't make it water!
• You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
• No matter how much money you spend, you can't make a racehorse out of a pig.
  You can, however, make an awfully fast pig....
• Can you teach an old Sysop new tricks?
• I: The best way to make a silk purse from a sow's ear is to begin with a silk sow.
  The same is true of money. II: If today were half as good as tomorrow is supposed to be, it would probably be twice as good as yesterday was....
• You can drive a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead.
• If you can lead it to water and force it to drink, it isn't a horse.